It’s cheaper to bring your own sandwich fixings to make in-room, but then you’ve got to fix sandwiches, and what fun is that? For me, vacation means as little cooking as possible, sandwich assembly included. And because the kids could easily help themselves to more of whatever they wanted and then watch cartoons, my husband and I were actually able to have a conversation over dinner. “¨

Plan out-of-water activities, too. Most kids can swim until they turn into shivering, blue prunes, but you’ll probably reach a point where enough is enough. Waterslides are, of course, the main attraction, but lots of water parks have other cool, non-wet offerings worth checking out, including laser tag, outdoor zip-lining, and more. I was glad I checked out the outdoor ropes and obstacle course to give our water-logged littles (and myself!) a break.

Give them a ride. After a day of nonstop swimming, my kids were exhausted—and so was I. The last thing I needed was to carry one of them back to the room. Most indoor water parks connect the hotel to the action areas, but it’s a good idea to bring a stroller or even a wagon to load everything—like souvenirs, water bottles, cover-ups, and swimmies) into. Even if your kids are well past the age of being carted around, at the end of the day they’ll be happy to have a fast ride back to the room. And the quicker you get back to your big hotel room, the quicker you can break out your bottle of wine and block of cheese, and start enjoying your—yes, your—vacation.